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99% Invisible — A Whale-Oiled Machine
Not scored yet34m·2023-03-14·Arts Culture

A Whale-Oiled Machine

99% Invisible · 528

Back when whale oil was mainly used as a fuel to burn in lanterns and streetlights, an enterprising man named William F. Nye found a new way to sell whale oil to a rapidly changing world: as a lubricant for all the new fangled machines. Nye specialized in specialization- selling different oils for watches, sewing…

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